THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 14, Issue 702, 22 July 1869, Page 4

THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

(From the Christ church Evening Mail, Jul£ 8.) state of affairs in Wellington, so far as particulars of it have reached ps, is sufficiently serious. Mr Stafford #u4 his colleagues were defeated by a large majority, consisting of men who avowedly differ from each other on many and important questions affect jtKf ihe administration of the affiirs of jlhe colony. This defeat was not a [matter of surprise; the Stafford Go vermpent contained, it is true, aid* and earnest men, and has in Its day rendered good services to the colony : but it had held office for a term of uu jiisuul length, and has in its latter flays had to bear the brunt of the unpopularity which will always attach to a government in office during an expensive and indecisive war. Ol this latter assertion, the history of the piotner country furnishes ample proof. We are not as yet. in possession of information as to the final composition of the new ministry, or what we are to expect from it in the way of polic\ measures. Tim fact that Mr Fox i:its head will not help us to a conclu sion on either point. In days gone by an Ultra-provincialist, he lias dur ing the last and tiie present s ssior been associated politically with these who used to denounce provincialism at the curse of New Zealand ; it i.« difficult to Say, therefore, who M. l'Yx's colleagues may not yet be. His policy is still more hard to foretell. It is true he has made many speeches of late, but they have been the slash ing attacks on his political opponents, fur which he is so well known. AI though rather given to that styie of oratory winch is generally popular on an American stump, and as a general rule not cliaiy of rash assertions, he appears of late to have taken considerable care not to commit himself. This guardeduess is even maintained in the declaration of the policy of the new ministry : it may mean very little 01 include very much ; we shall recur to it presently. Previously, however, we have a word to add uu the person riel of the ministry, so far as it is com plete. The most able member of it k generally understood to be Mr Vogel, late Provincial Treasurer of Otago, which province he has lately 1. ft, f >r the purpose of assuming the editorship of an Auckland newspaper. Report speaks highly of the financial abilities 0* this gentleman, but also accuse? him of a tendency to throw as much of our burthens as possible on posterity by means of loans. During his administration in Otago the provincial debts would have been considerably increased if the consent of the Colonial Government could have been pbtuined. Mr Vogel, it is said, has only joined the Government foi the session, and at its couciuaio will return to Auckland, Mi Donald AT Lean's name, as a g'e.n uuUioiiiy with the natives, is web known. What his qualifications foi dealing with difficult questions <1 Dative policy may be, is yet to b< proved; we hope tor the best. Abnui a week alter the mjllisliy v. as formed jr was jdned by Air Ddl u Pell ami Mr Gisborne. The latter gentleman |s for the present only known as a valuable < filial, who has, for upwards of twenty years, filed the office of IJnder-krecietaiy in the Colonial Secretary's department. What his politica opinions may be, or Ids quaiilieaiions Jor political life, the public has yet to learn. Mr Pell, on the other baud, has been 10114 engaged in public life, and the public frequently heard his political opinions. JU does 1 ot how fver follow that anybody can s.iy what his present views aie; fortius gentleman bus the reputation of beingiven to rapid changes of opinion. His friends have mostly had the } lea sure of healing him speak on both shies of almost every subject, and Speak equally well on all siues. His just speeches on the subject of self re fiance were in favor 01 that policy ; we shall be anxious to hear what \ievys he v\ili enunciate when he next addresses the House on the same queo \ivv. As it is difficult to draw, horn the composition of the new ministry, anv satisfactory conclusion of what its policy will be,we tunntothe programme as given by Mr l<Vx. We do net find turselvts really much the wiser lor il.e process. In the matter 0; the y/ar the premier says the attitude of |jje EoyeTiiweiit will be not

aggressive. What does this mean ? ItTmay mean that no natives are to be attacked who do not attack us in the first instance; hut we have never heard that this ha? been done hitherto. On the othe< hand it may mean that if the Hauhaus attack one of our settlements, we ait to content ourselves (if not too late) in driving the savages off, or letting them retire unmolested with their booty, and our fellow settlers' scalp into their own forest homes ; consider iiia it, us General Cameron did, '* quit*useless to follow them into the forest.'' If this is what is meant we are cm vin cud that no siyle of warfare could he more sure to prolong the war, or add to the number of our opponents; no policy could be mure disastrous to the North Island or more costly t*« ;he S uth. If Te Kooiis and Titoko wants are to chouse their own time ,ind place for recruiting and refreshing themselves, and their owu time and place for robbing and murdering the settlers, the war will last for ever. Next Mr-Fox states that lie objects to a colonial standing army, and proposes therefore to demilitarize the presenl constabulary force. Again, we ask what does this mean? Are the men to be armed, and taught the U3e ol inns, to be drilled, taught to act to aether, know their officers, ami ti ■ bey them? If so, that is, as far we learn, precisely I he training to which ihe armed coustabulury is now subject. If the men are not to l>e thus trained they will he a perfect bonne bouche foi the first band of Hauhaus whom the\ may encounter. The cardinal point of Mr Fox's policy, however, he declares ;o be the employment of Imperial troops —the 18th Regiment, if he can get it, to garrison the towns, ami mother regiment specially raised L England for service in New Zealand Subsequent events must have con viuced even Mr Fox that the ldth [tfgimaut will not be allowed to remain; and we have not the slightest expectation that the Imperial Government will have anything to do wiri raising a special corps for New Zealauo service, although tiny un.y allow us t> do so at our own i-xpeiise. But, il this is to be the case, will not ou< "••rps be exctly a colonial sundi.ij: irmy, such as Mr Fox objects to ? I vviil be an army for which it will cos : io little time and money to raise an oriiig to tins country, and which w ohall, in the most favorable event nave to saddle the Colony with the cos' of for several years to cmiie. On tin subject of finance, Mr Fox was par ticulatly ietieent ; the only opinio; which lie s.ated clearly wa-; that, i money was boi t'owed i>y the Col my f l the purpose of road-making in th North Island, the interest and sinking iund on such I an should be on the North Island. We shouh

rather thi;ik S). Tliis \>v posal i> L-t rtainly a step in advance of any thing prop su'd by the St,.il* rd Miuistiy. 'Jul - contemporary the Press lias, 01. mole than one (U'Ccisuii, spuki . n of t; iuan of i 11,500.000 us one of the pro p sals which wus to have be<-n math oy I lie late Government. We siial be glad to learn our contemporary':* authority for this statement, for whiei we have not ourselves been able to dis eovtr any foundation. It is true M-t-'i'zhei hi r., when in England, asked Lord Granville whether the Imperial guarantee would be given for a loan oi that amount, but it does not follow ilmt the Colonial government, eves, if M; Im.z lerberl's application bar been sued ssiul, would have prop sed >\xch a loan ; moreover, Air Fitzner-b-rt's r< quest Was positively retused No olli ul or even semi official an uouneeuient of an intention to ask for a loan of such maguitu le has ever been made, and there is, inert lore, no ground lor supposing that the Staff-id Govern meat intt'UUid to ask for a lalger sum than might be found absolutely neees suiy to bring tue present militai) operations to a (dose. But, however, that may be, we are plainly t« 11 thai ilie Fox Ministry prop-se a loan for the construction of roads in the North island. H..W are tncy going to pa) for the "New Zealand li-gimeni" am. the dt-miiiiaiised .Defence Force, tin-) have a» yet kept a secret. The mosi characteiistic, a.id we add amusing, part of j\lr FoX s statement was tlia referring to the provi, ces. Summarised it amounts to this. With tliott provinces whose financial coiniitiou is satisfactory, and who can cany on

their work without trouble t> Mr Fox and hi 3 colleagues, they will "maintain friendly relations, cooperate, &c ," whatever that may mean. What it does mean, and was intended to mean, if anything, we leave our readers to discover, if they can. But it is with respect to the insolvent pro •ince-, such as Marlborough, Taranaki, and Southland, that the House and the Country was m >st anxious to know the intentions of the Government. In these cases Mr Fox, with a few preliminary remarks, announced that the government had come to the conclusion that they would, in all probability have to do something, but of what that something would be be said not a word, although in the cases abo\e referred to the total collapse of the provincial system, and of all provision for the maintenance of peace and pub lie order, is known to be imminent. We have said enough to prove the unsatisfactory character of Mr Fox's programme, so far as its meaning can be ascertained with any degree of precision. Its prominent features are a recurrence to Imperial troops, whose employment in former native wars entailed such enormous expense and pro I need such little fruit except governmental squabbles, a significant silence as to bovv the cost of milita y operalions is to be defrayed, aud the an uouncemeut of a fresh colonial loan for the construction of roads in tin North Island. If such a policy meets with anything but opposition from the Middle Island members, so much the vorse for the Middle Island.